Star Wars: The Battle Begins
by raptor7435
Summary: sequel to Star Wars: Reality. the actual battle mentioned throughout the main story finally begins. please RR
1. Chapter 1

_Preface_

_THE OATH HAS BEEN SAID,_

_AND THE GLORY SONG SUNG._

_IT IS NOW TIME TO MAN BATTLE-_

_STATIONS AND PREPARE FOR _

_ANOTHER LONG FIGHT._

_WITH THE DISASTER AT DEIL _

_NINE LOOMING OVER THE _

_ALLIANCE LIKE AN EVIL _

_SHADOW, THE FIGHTERS _

_KNOW THAT ANOTHER FAILURE _

_WOULD MEAN CERTAIN DEFEAT. _

_TENSION IS AT ITS HIGHEST._

_THE ALLIANCE IS FINALLY _

_READY TO LAUNCH ITS _

_CAREFULLY PLANNED ATTACK,_

_WITH THE HOPE OF CRIPPLING_

_THE EMPIRE FOREVER... _


	2. Here We Go!

6:11 P.M. Orlader Six

The stars, numerous in quantity, lit up the darkness of space with an iridescent glow all around the small planet, named by an Imperial probe as Orlader Six some seventeen years ago. The stars serenely encased the green-and-brown planet in their milky twinkle, lighting up all the oceans with a crystal glow, a beautiful shine.

Meanwhile, the Orlader star, another circle of brilliant white light, passed it's own glow over the tiny planet. On one side, it cast a powerful shadow over some continents and an ocean, consuming nearly half the planet, while on the other side the star shone brightly for thousands of kilometers.

The light guided gently over the metallic hulls of the Alliance star fleet, glinting off their weakly-polished surfaces. Bouncing from ship to ship, the glow soon encompassed a hive of starships. Hundreds of Alliance Cruisers floated lazily in space, peacefully awaiting their next move. Around them was the rest of the fleet, made up of Frigates, destroyers, and small support craft of many different shapes and sizes. These ships looked like a "ragtag" fleet next to the mighty Cruisers, but no Alliance fleet could ever be effective in a fight without their smaller comrades. So the fleet worked together, mighty teamed-up with tiny, as one huge force. But for now, all of the ships remained as peaceful and as quiet as the darkness around them...

Out of no where, an X-Wing shot forward, slicing a cut across the calm of the fleet, its thrusters practically red, excitedly racing on. It wasn't alone though. A hive of tens upon hundreds of tiny starfighters followed the X-Wing, their engines reflecting the intensity the upcoming battle would bring. The hive was scattered throughout the fleet, coasting across the surface's of Cruisers, swooping under the necks of Frigates and over the compact hulls of corvettes, gunships, and destroyers. Together, the mess of fighters rocketed towards the front of the fleet, paving the way for the rest to follow them. No one passed that first X-Wing though. It lead the pack towards their destined coordinates.

Bryan Rawling pushed back on the stick slightly, bumping his ship's nose up as he skimmed the surface of the Frigate _Cernius_. In his mind played the first part of "Into the Trap," the theme song in _Return of the Jedi _where the _Millennium Falcon_ was leading the fighters to the jump coordinates to Endor. This was the last time he probably had to have a little fun, and he'd always loved doing dare-devilish things like just missing the wing on a Cruiser and flying fast past a hull segment, like he was about to do right now. Gently pushing down on the left rudder pedal, he tipped the X-Wing onto its side, "swooshing" past the _Cernius_'s topside shield generator. Or, at least in Bryan's mind it "swooshed". That was one of the things that he hated most about space. No sound whatsoever.

The surface quickly vanished behind him, and he was now looking at only two more Cruisers to pass before he was at the front of the fleet. He casually gazed around at the scene behind him, at all the starfighters flying forward. The numbers of this battle were astonishing. He had never known that the Alliance was this big, especially since he had grown up dorkishly loving the movie _Star Wars_, reading as many of the books as he could, playing almost all the games. So in his mind, the Alliance was supposed to be a small organization that didn't stand a chance at winning but eventually did. This was like a dream come true; leading hundreds of Rebel fighters into battle against the Empire, in what he hoped would be an epic showdown, though he prayed the loss of life would be very minimal. He hated death. So many battles where so many people had lost their lives...

Bryan shook his head and blinked. _Enough of that_, he thought. _Time to get to work. _The last Cruiser was passing by the cockpit now. Ahead of him was open space, with Orlader Six barely in the view. Flipping the stand-by com switch, he opened a channel to the _Liberty_ and said the famous words of Lando Calrissian: "Admiral, we're in position. All fighters accounted for."

Emilie answered in almost the same fashion as Admiral Ackbar had in _Jedi _"Proceed with the countdown. All ships assume attack coordinates. Twenty seconds to hyperspace." She closed the channel.

Taking a deep breath and letting it go, Bryan said to himself, "Here we go." _"Amutihana imidicana"—"Don' worry. My friend's down there. He'll have that shield on time."—"haminiah haoot?"_—_"Or this'll be the shortest offen—" _

Just then, a blinking white light appeared on the com. Call waiting. Flipping the switch again: "Commander Rawling here, go ahead."

"Hey, it's Justin. Before we leave I want ya to listen to this. It's a signal coming from a passenger carrier called the _Syphus._ They really like ya. Hang on...there we go." Justin's voice was slowly drowned out by the rising sound of people chanting and then pounding. Soon enough though, he heard his name in between pounds. _Bump bump_ "Raw-ling!" _bump bump _"Raw-ling!" _bump bump _"Raw-ling!"

Bryan started laughing. "Are you kidding me?" This was strange. Minus the fact that he wasn't used to be cheered on by anybody, he also didn't know anybody, civilian or crew, on the _Syphus_. He didn't even know what type that _was_. "Come on, I'm just a Commander. Nothing more, nothing less."

"So? They still like you."

Bryan shrugged. "I dunno. It's cool I guess."

"All right. I'll see ya over there. Good luck. Later."

"You too, bye," Bryan said, closing the channel as Puck signaled the five-seconds light. Sitting back, he shook his head. _Why do they cheer _me_ on? I'm just a Commander. Nothing more, nothing less. It's the rest of 'em that deserve all the credit. The pilot's of the Rebellion..._

The stars expanded and streaked into lines of tremendous length, and the X-wing blasted off into hyperspace.


	3. Tale 7:The Valiance Tours3rd Competition

**Tale 7: The _Valiance _Tours—3rd Competition ** Four years before the Battle of Corpagia

11:59 P.M. Afgalan time; Afgalan; _Siddah_ _rizzol_(_Siddah _stadium)

Bryan took his seat, in between Maxie and Kevin, as the young Vice President Mayha Polukin started blasting away at the white-and-red podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 3nd Annual Alliance _Valiance _Variety Tournament!"

The crowd of thousands erupted into heavier cheering and clapping, thundering around the huge stadium. Spectators from all over the Alliance had packed into the seats. On the main floor, pilots', engineers', regular ship officers', and Captains' anxiously awaited the start of the _Valiance_ Tours. This competition was the Olympics of the Alliance, where all the best pilots, techs, ship officers, and Captains' went to battle each other in categories of intellect, speed, wit, combat, strategy, patience, and teamwork. They were pitted against each other in their respected categories and class. There were approximately 676 people that competed: 208 pilots, 208 techs, 208 officers, and fifty-two Captains. Each was then broken down into three difficulty ranges: masters, experts, and novices, each range having fifty-two people in it. Only the Captains didn't have ranges. Over a matter of three weeks, contestants were slowly eliminated until only one stood at the top as Best Pilot, Best Captain, etc. Meanwhile, the Tournament traveled around to various different planets before returning to Afgalan for the awards ceremony. The contestants were faired by a fleet of fourteen Frigates lead by the Frigate _Valiance_, the Alliance's secondary Flagship, and the ship that the Tournament was named after. Once the fleet arrived at a planet, the contestants were allowed to tour any part of the planet they wished. The fleet always tried to arrive with at least a full day to see the sights of a particular planet. The competition itself took place on both the _Valiance_ and whatever planet the fleet was stopped at.

The Tours had been introduced four years earlier. The Alliance had fallen in love with them instantly. Since Imperial networks blocked all main sports broadcasts—not to mention _all_ _main_ broadcasts—to Alliance planets, the Alliance had to create its own networks and broadcasts, which it had done successfully. And one of the first sports events ever created on these new networks was the _Valiance_ Tours. What a hit that had been! Not only did the people of the Alliance love it, but so did the contestants who competed. It was a chance to show one's skills, see some amazing sights, and have a blast overall.

Bryan had competed in the first two Tournaments, the first one occurring only two months after he had been promoted to Commander, and, at both, he had the time of his life. He had finished second in the "masters" category twice, both times behind Commander Calvin Deravin. But he didn't really remember the competition in the end, just the blast he had had. The _Valiance_ Tours had been where he had bonded with most of his new friends on the _Faith. _Most of them either moved on to better things or had died by now. Rosy, Burrnick Daser, Dassa Frull, and Muretta Vun-poj-ahr were the only pilots that were still on board the _Faith_ since the last Tours, but only Rosy and Muretta had actually competed again now. Burrnick had been two points shy of getting a slot in the "experts" category, and Dassa just didn't feel like doing it again. The _Valiance_ Tours was where memories were created and lasted a lifetime, and Bryan loved them dearly.

The crowd was still going wild, and it took several seconds for them to calm down before Polukin could speak again. "Yes, it's that time again. Time for the blood to boil and the adrenaline to flow like the _Cykrik _river. 676 contestants sitting right here are ready to put their wits and skills to the test, some for the second or third time and many for the first." Polukin's large eyes skimmed over the crowd. His lips curled to one side into a tight smirk. "You newbies had better be ready. This competition will drive a knife straight through your heart."

Bryan chuckled evilly, and fixed a devious gaze in Kevin's direction. Kevin just shook his head. All throughout the contestants came the sound of devious laughter and diabolical chuckling.

"Not happenin' to me," Kevin said.

"Now...—" Polukin continued.

Bryan's own sly grin showed doubt. "We'll see about that, rookie." Kevin was new to the Tours, not having competed for a spot in the last one. His mother had suffered a near-fatal stroke the day of his Playoff.

"—let's not waste anymore time walking through the introduction. If memory serves right, then all of you are very anxious for the Tournament to start."

The crowd roared again.

Polukin laughed lightly. "You see? Exactly what I thought." He stood straight up. "Okay. First, the locations. This year the fleet is going a new route; out beyond the Valgor Maze, which is in the opposite direction of the Daddin sector, where's the Tours went two years ago. The first stop will be the planet Hident "

The crowd cheered for a second, then died again.

"It is a planet rich in natural phenomenons like the moving _Kingal_ Ocean, and the famous _Sinai_ _Kolap_ Mountain Range, which changes shape every month. Hident offers a variety of natural foods and drinks, and is also home to numerous, beautiful gardens. Feel free to tour any part of the planet you feel. However, remember that those attractions not listed are those you must pay for yourself. Those competitions being held on Hident will be posted on the day we arrive."

"The next stop after Hident will then be Sur, one of the moons of the planet Porgaden."

The crowd roared louder than before, knowing exactly where they would be going once their ships touch down on Sur. Bryan grinned and smiled brightly.

Polukin smiled. "Of course, many of you know that _Ben_Co. City on Sur is home to the famous _Uliat Rom_ amusement park. And the good news is we get it all to ourselves for the time we're there."

The contestants screamed in excitement. _Uliat Rom_ was famous all over the galaxy—even in Imperial territory. It was the largest amusement park anywhere. The motto for the park was "The effect will leave you chilled with excitement and wanting more!" Not exactly the best slogan, but from what Bryan had heard, it was right. This would be his first time at the _Rom_.

"You'll also have access to sights on Porgaden, like the _Kopulan_ Theater and the _Asind_ Circus. Please no making fun of the clowns. I know they seem a bit...odder than normal clowns. The Tournament events, however, will take place on Sur."

"The third planet will be Caresica, which is home—"

Bryan, Maxie, and Kevin all took a long, deep breath.

"—to the renowned _Whikkila_ District."

The three exchanged glances, their experience years ago with the "renowned" _Whikkila_ District coming back to them.

"Just to be sure not to get too wasted, ladies and gentlemen, because the competition happens ten hours after we arrive."

A murmur rippled through the crowd for a few moments.

"Caresica also has the lovely _Winhthrob _Crystal Sea attached to its name, as well as numerous other attractions. Again, anything that's not on the list you have to pay for yourself."

"Our final stop will be Trinity, Art Capital of the Alliance. You'll be allowed to visit any of the museums you wish. They will all be free. After our tour at Trinity is done, the fleet will return to Afgalan for the Finals and the Awards Ceremony." Polukin stood up straight at the podium. "This is what you all, sitting here, have waited for. These are the _Valiance _Tours. You have all worked hard to sit in those seats. And I applaud you for making it this far. Seeing all you pilots, engineers, officers, and captains—just a slice of the finest military in the galaxy—makes me proud to be the Vice President of this Alliance."

The crowd began to clap voraciously, "whooping" and cheering for Polukin.

"All right. At this time, I'd like to ask all of you to join me in pausing for a moment of silence for all those Alliance soldiers who are preparing for battle in the Eskeko sector. Their duties prevented them from entering the Tournament this year. So if we could...just..." he silenced and bowed his head. As did everyone else in the crowd.

A hush fell over _Siddah_ stadium.

Hundreds of light years away, in the distant Eskeko sector, the Alliance was prepping to defend its border territories from a massive Imperial offensive that was targeting Earth. Earth was practically on the edge of the Imperial-Alliance border, with only the Eskeko sector standing in the way. And since the Imperial's were threatening strikes at almost every other border, the Alliance couldn't afford to send every ship they had to defend Earth.

In fact, the last thing Bryan had heard about the defensive was that if the Eskeko fleet failed to stop the Imperials, then Earth would be an easy target. If that happened, then Bryan was sure the Alliance would face years of dark times. The scary thing was that he new that some of his friends were out there. Justin had said he and Sam had been posted there, which is why they couldn't make it to the Tours this year. He also knew Clara was out there, as was his old friend Molly Raoin.

It was going to be one of the bloodiest showdowns in space battle history. This moment of silence was soon going to be for the dead...

"Thank you," Polukin said, breaking the hush. "Now...I have a surprise for you all. At this time, we have a transmission on hold from Admiral Sigmund Colvon, the man who is leading the defensive is the Eskeko sector. He would like to say hello to everyone." He turned to the stadium's jumbotron screen behind him. "Admiral?"

The screen flickered for a moment, then blinked on. The aging, smiling face of the sixty-seven year old British Admiral Sigmund Colvon filled it. His gray hair shined with almost a silver glow in the light of the bridge behind him, and his green eyes were wide and twinkling. "Hello Vice President Polukin. _Valiance_ contestants—"

The crowd's noise level rose to deafening.

He smiled wider. "Thank you all...thank you very much..."

The Captains all rose out of there seats, clapping wildly for their superior.

Admiral Colvon chuckled. "Oh, please...thank you..."

The pilots rose next, followed in quick succession by the engineers and officers, as they energetically applauded. The politicians and speakers up by the podium immediately followed. The spectators at the stadium burst out of their seats last to join the contestants in giving the Admiral a glorious standing ovation for his efforts in the Eskeko sector.

All the while, Colvon kept repeated the words "Thank you," as the ovation continued for several moments longer. Half a minute later, the clapping finally died and everyone took their seats again.

"Thank you all," Colvon said warmly. "You're support and respect means a lot to me and my troops out here. We have a long fight ahead of us, and I promise you we will make you all proud."

Cheering again.

"I look forward to seeing the results of the Tournament this year. From what I can it will be quite a show, as always."

Polukin grabbed the microphone out of its holster and spoke. "Admiral, we're honored to have you speak here at the opening ceremonies for us. We know you're busy and we won't take up much more of your time. Now when do you expect the Imperials to breach the Eskeko sector?"

"Ahhh..." he reached up and scratched the back of his neck. "We're expecting the Imperials to burst into the system any day now, hopefully not during the middle of the night. As of right now, we're on full tactical alert, and are standing-by for combat."

A couple "whoo"s escaped the crowd.

"How are the troops doing?" Polukin asked. "High morale is often a part of any success."

Admiral Colvon grinned. "Yes...yes. Very much a part of it as a matter of fact. The morale of my troops is the highest I've ever seen in a unit. They have been truly amazing in their calmness and readiness. They are spirited, bold, and just—overall-overall just an amazing and...great unit of fighters. I'm honored to be their leader and I know they–they won't let me down."

"Good Admiral," Polukin answered. "Now I just have more question and this question—"he turned and looked at the contestants"—must be asked." He turned back to the Admiral. "Admiral, you are definitely expecting victory, are you not, Admiral Colvon?"

The Admiral's expression turned firm. "Oh, of course!" He said strongly.

The crowd screeched in response.

"Well then there's no doubt," Polukin said in replied. "You'll get victory. We wish you and your soldiers the best of luck, Admiral. We'll keep you in our prayers here. Good—"

Admiral Colvon grinned. "You won't need to."

Polukin laughed along with several others in the stadium. "Good luck Admiral."

"Thank you." The jumbotron went blank.

"Well there you have it, ladies and gentlemen," Polukin said. "The heroes of the Rebel Alliance. Now, let's get started for real. At this time we're going to call all those competing up to the stage, one group at a time, to be recognized not only for their being here today, but for their undying service to the Alliance. And with that I say, let the _Valiance _Tours begin."

The crowd roared again.

Behind him, Bryan heard a body slump down into an open chair. "Hey. Did I miss anything?"

Bryan turned around and saw Rosy's cute face and big eyes staring at him curiously. "You're late. Only the opening statements from Polukin, and where we're going this year, _and_ a special "go team!" from Admiral Colvon, live from the Eskeko sector."

"First group—" Polukin started again.

Rosy's eyes widened apologetically. "I'm sorry. I got held up down in the street. They—they said—"

Bryan's eyebrow raised. "By whom?"

"—that I matched the description of a girl who robbed a store earlier today."

"Rooooosy..." Bryan said in an incriminating tone.

"Hey!" she whined, knocking her open palm into his forehead. "Don't do that! It was scary."

"Oh, I'm sure."

She smacked her lips at him and stuck out her tongue rudely.


	4. Tale 7: Part Two

5:43 P.M. Zeverian time; Hident system; Hident; _Kingal_ Ocean

Bryan raised the spoon to his lips, wiping the smooth _Ruul _cream off of it and into his mouth. He closed his eyes as the ice cold substance air-conditioned his tongue to relaxation. _Gotta love ice cream_, he thought. He knew that, technically, this wasn't ice cream, but it was close enough for his tastes. Soft, mushy, cold, delicious cream—ice cream!

The hoveryacht blew out three short and crisp horn blasts. The Zeverian Captain shouted something else out in his own language. "Last call for passengers!" came the translation on Bryan's UT. He dipped the spoon back into the _Ruul_ cream, and popped another chunk into his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the last group of passengers rushing towards the boarding ramp, and the two guards at the bottom preparing to take tickets. The group reached the ramp, but it was apparent after only a few seconds that only three people had tickets. With that, the yacht let out a booming horn, signaling the beginning of the tour. The port-side repulsorlifts ignited, gently propelling the craft away from the pier.

As it turned towards the open sea, a tall Pyfrellin man stepped next to Bryan on the deck. Glancing at him, Bryan grinned a hello. "Hey Yurnold."

"Hello," Yurnold Camikai answered, out of breath.

"Just made it in time?"

The Pyfrellin's red eyes glared blasters at him.

Bryan grinned playfully. "Just kiddin', buddy."

"Very funny," he responded in a hoarse voice. He grabbed the guardrail and practically heaved air into his tired lungs.

"Here," Bryan said, reaching down to grab the water bottle he had bought twenty minutes earlier. The _hasart_(plastic-like substance) bottle was three-fourths filled with refreshing water, the universal need of nearly every different species in the known galaxy. "You can have the rest of it."

Yurnold accepted the bottle, still hunched over. "Thank you." The thin lips of the man parted and he practically stuffed the bottle's opening into his mouth. It sounded like he was sucking the water into his throat instead of letting it flow by itself.

Laughing on the inside at this, Bryan thought to himself, _Can't blame him_.

The other man finished drinking and tried to hand the bottle back to Bryan, but the human simply shook his head. "Naw, go ahead, keep it. I got this _Ruul_ to keep my tongue cool. I can getcha one if you like?"

"Thank you but no. I'm fine. Plus I can't eat that stuff. I have allergies."

"To ice cream? You mean, like, lactose intolerance?"

"What's that?"

"Human thing. Can't eat dairy things like milk and ice cream or...cheese."

Yurnold shook his head. "No, I can still eat non-cream products. But cream products I can't stand due to just allergies. That's all."

"Oh. Interesting."

Alien language started booming over the yacht-wide comlink. Bryan and Yurnold promptly raised their UT's to their ears. "We are about to move up to cruising speed. Please step back from the guardrails as the sudden jolt will shake the boatdeck."

"Ohp. Time to sit down." Bryan backed up and hunched over onto a bench that he noticed was nailed into the wall along the whole side of the cabin. Thinking nothing more of it though, he sat and enjoyed his _Ruul_ cream some more, as Yurnold took a seat next to him. The hoveryacht lurched forward, exhaust roaring from it's rear thrustors for a brief second. The yacht left the docking pier behind, then started out to sea at an average cruising speed.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain, you are free to move about the boatdeck," came the voice over the loud speaker. "It's nice and sunny out today. The water is almost a crystal blue, so maybe some of you might catch some glimpses of a few of the thousands of unique fish species that inhabit _Kingal_ here. I think I see a rare _olplo_ fish now here." A pause. Some people on the boatdeck rose up to glance over the guardrail, to see if they could see the fish, cameras at the ready. "Oh, there it goes back underwater," the captain announced. "Sorry, folks, maybe next time. We'll be arriving at the Rift in about—"the UT stopped the translation to compute Hident time units to human ones"—twenty-one minutes." At that point, the loudspeaker cut off with a quick static burst.

Just then, a question he had been meaning to ask Maxie for the couple of hours came to him, and he decided to ask Yurnold instead. Turning to him: "Hey, Yurnold? Question, buddy; how did our dear friend Calvin Deravin do in the–Starfighter vs. Starship competition today?"

Yurnold shrugged. "From what I saw, very well. I think he actually destroyed the Star Destroyer, along with all the other ships too."

Bryan smirked, impressed and anxious. "Good, because I know I did, and I want him and I to be at equal odds when we get to the Head-to-Head competition."

The Starfighter vs. Starship event was always the first match to be played at the Tours. It pitted two pilots in every category against each other, in a race to see who could destroy four Imperial starships the fastest. The match was all a simulation; _all_ the matches in the Tours were simulations. The first three ships were chosen at random, but both pilots faced the same ship when it was chosen, and the fourth ship was always the same in each respectable category. Both had two chances to try and eliminate all of the starships. For the novices, the final ship was a strike cruiser; for the experts, the final ship was an Interdictor cruiser; for the masters, the final ship was a Star Destroyer. The pilot who destroyed the most starships in the quickest time was the victor and moved on; the pilot who failed spent the next few weeks watching other people compete. Not everybody could destroy them all. Most, especially the masters, didn't. Even if one didn't, though, the person farthest would be declared the winner.

Bryan had competed this morning in that event, achieving what was called "the miracle": destroying the Star Destroyer. His opponent, a Copper Commander from the Cruiser _Kolopong_, hadn't gotten past the third ship, a _Lancer_-class Frigate. Next event in line now was the "sharp-shooter" competition...

And then on with the rest of the events, until the final Head-to-Head match; the looked-forward-to showdown with his rival Calvin Deravin, who had beat him last time in the Head-to-Head, and had beaten him two years before that in the Obstacle Course. Every _Valiance_ Tours Bryan had competed in, he'd been beaten by Calvin. And though his ego was a grain of sand compared to Calvin's, Bryan couldn't help but feel the urge to crush the man the next time they faced off; which he hoped would be in the Head-to-Head because that was always the most exciting competition in the entire Tournament, both to compete in and to watch.

"You know, you might _not_ make it to the Finals. And maybe Commander Deravin will _not_ either."

"Yeah," Bryan said, ready to crack a sarcastic joke, "And maybe this _Ruul_ cream is about to jump out of the cup and eat me alive in revenge for me eating _it_. Doesn't mean it's gonna happen, does it?"

At first, Yurnold said nothing, trying to make heads or tails of what Bryan had just said. "What? Bryan, you make no sense."

Bryan shrugged. "Okay. I don't...care. Doesn't hurt me in anyway, does it?"

"I don't know. Can anything actually penetrate your skull?"

"Haha, very funny."

"I was being serious."

Bryan swallowed his _Ruul_ and then slapped Yurnold across his right arm. "Hey, if he _does_, then boo-hoo for him." He took another bite. "But I hope he doesn't. It always fun facing him in the Finals."

"Don't you think _you_ might lose? Maybe in the Obstacle Course, or the preliminary Head-to-Heads? There _have_ been some upsets, you know."

"Yeah, but not on me or Calvin. Our records are almost flawless."

Yurnold chuckled. "_His_ is, you mean."

"Ahahahahahaha," Bryan laughed sarcastically. "Yurnold, where did you ever get your great sense of humor?"

The older man laughed delightfully. "What can I say? You smelly, pink, extra-hairy humans are so simple to tease."

Bryan snickered. "Yes, I guess so, compared to you greasy, skinny, grayish, polish-to-you-glint Pyfrellin...dirtbags."

Yurnold snapped his gaze over to Bryan faster than a baseball swing. "Excuse me?" he asked with a laugh coming on. "'Dirtbag?' What kind of insult is that?"

"A 1990's Earth insult that I decided to use in this case." He shrugged. "Couldn't think of anything else."

"Hmm. How is that an insult though? Dirt and soil are precious commodities on Garra. We don't have much of it; compared to Earth, I mean. You have plenty of it."

"Yeah, and we trade you with it—I mean, we trade with you for it. An—wait...oh, nevermind, you know what I mean—and you get a decent amount, I think, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Cool. How much? Do you know?"

Yurnold froze for a moment, then let out a breath. "Close to 100,000 kilomots per trade."

"I take it that's a lot in Pyfrellin terms?"

He nodded. "Enough to keep our food plenty. We grow a lot of it."

"To feed an entire planet of people? I would think so." Bryan didn't know much about other planets. He had never needed to know much so he never looked into any of them. Earth had been his home, so he didn't see why he should study other planets. True, they were just as rich in culture as Earth and humanity was, and Bryan had respect for that. But for now, he just enjoyed getting to know and fighting alongside people with the same beliefs in him; he didn't need to know about their home worlds, especially since his job was Commander of all Alliance pilots, and that took up tons of time, or so he made himself think. Sometimes the job seemed like nothing at all.

"Can I ask you a question?" Yurnold said.

Bryan suppressed the urge to say, "You just did" and instead said, "Shoot."

"Do you have a grudge with Calvin Deravin?"

"Hmm? No man. No way. I don't hold grudges, remember?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm confused. You seem like you hold a grudge against him for maybe him beating you the last two years in this competition."

Giving him the "crazy-eye," Bryan answered, "What? No I don't. Sure I want to beat him, but if I don't, then it's no big deal. It's not like I brag after I win like he probably does." He paused for a split second. Yurnold tried to respond, but Bryan spoke first. They both knew that Calvin always shook his opponent's hand after every match, no matter who won or lost. It made him look good, but Bryan always suspected that he was forcing himself to do it. "I don't mean directly _after _he wins, but certainly after a while. I can't count the number of times he boasts, with shit like "yeah, well I still beat you" or "stop actin' tough, Rawling, especially since I've beaten you plenty of times before" and blah, blah, blah. He's full of shit sometimes. I have respect for him, but he's full of shit sometimes."

"Because he knows you're a challenge to him. A chal—"

"Oh, he better...—

"—llenge to his pride and glory:—"

"—he better."

"—being crowned Best Pilot in the Alliance."

"And yet I'm Commander of the Alliance Pilot Corps. Hmmmmm."

"You also stole his job from him."

Bryan shrugged. "He lost that fair and square and he knows it. So he should stop complaining."

"That's why he wants your head on a platter. You stole something that he believes is his."

"Well then he's an asshole; and I didn't _steal_ anything. That job was awarded to me by Admiral Poff and the commission signed by a majority of Congress."

"Sounds pretty funny coming from you. You hate Congress."

"I don't _hate_ them. I just think they've made some bad decisions recently."

"You hate them."

Bryan snickered, biting back laughter. "Shut up. No I don't." He smiled and took the second-to-last-bite of his _Ruul_. "Anger leads to fear, fear leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. I don't hate anything. Calvin's just an asshole sometimes, and Congress...Congress is just Congress. Can't say much more than that."

"I guess not..."

The conversation pretty much died after that. Yurnold stayed seated for the rest of the trip, while Bryan got up every now and then to gaze the at the beautiful scenery and occasionally munch on the complimentary snack foods in the lounge. But they didn't say another word to each other until...

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are just arriving at the Rift. It should be completely visible off to starboard."

Bryan and Yurnold made their way over to the starboard side of the yacht. Out there, brewing turbulence in the calm water, was the _Kingal_ Rift, which was the heart of the _Kingal_ Ocean and considered the heart of Hident itself. The anomaly sucked in tons of water each week. But what is was famous for was being able to move th entire _Kingal_ Ocean. Bryan didn't know how, he just knew the Ocean moved in some way. It was sword-shaped, with the tip directly in contact with the western beach on the continent _Ulani Muns._ The water sank into the crust below that beach, traveled through caverns embedded in the crust, being boiled over again and again, until it finally was dumped back into the Ocean of miles away on one of the northern beaches. That way the Ocean never drained completely. And that's all that Bryan knew about it.

"The _Kingal_ Rift was formed nearly 200,000 years ago when a comet smashed into the _Pofeore_ beach of what is now the continent _Ulani Muns_; what we're looking at right now. The force of the hit was so great that it cracked a small portion of Hident's crust, and the water from the Ocean started draining directly into the crack. The effects of this new change caused the Ocean itself to decrease in size. Scientists say that the Ocean is now one-fourth of the size it used to be because of the drainage. It used to cover all of _Forbeeare_ and _Westebno _continents. However, the boiling water eventually eroded away enough crust to be dumped _back_ into itself, saving what was left of the Ocean, though that didn't happen until 5,000 years after the comet hit. Now you're probably asking yourself 'Okay, but what makes it move? The _Kingal_ Ocean is called the moving ocean.' Well, what makes it move are the islands that it pulls in. Every few thousand years, an island on the Ocean is detached from the crust by the eroding effects of the water. The island is then slowly pulled into the Rift, and gets jammed into one side of the suction grid. All the water then shifts to dumping into the side that isn't being filled, and the resulting rush pulls the Ocean to one side, thus—moving it. And that is the secret of the amazing 'moving' _Kingal_ Ocean. Now the next island has already broken off; however it won't arrive at the Rift for at least another one hundred years. But today, I'm told, we get to see a good spectacle anyway. What better way to honor the _Valiance_ Tours being with us then by two small islets colliding in the Rift."

Against the wind and the sound of the water, Bryan heard "whoops" and cheers from all over the boat, both outside and inside the cabin.

"It's an event that rarely happens on the Ocean, but is always worth it no matter what. And its scheduled to happen very soon here so pay attention, or you'll miss it. Here we go."

Bryan plucked his camera from a satchel in his belt and gazed out at the Rift in anticipation. He spotted the two islets as they grew closer and closer together in the water, like two gunners getting ready to duel. The rush of the water increased the objects speed. Bryan raised his camera and got the approaching collision in focus. The land masses were about the same size, not big at all. The two were almost identical in their looks. They were both covered in green foliage on their tops, with a tan rock making up the rest of them. Bryan snapped off a quick photo of the two separate but very close.

"Here we go!" The Captain exclaimed.

Nearly everyone raised their cameras. The two islets smacked into each other with the force of bullets, sounding off with a large "snap/crack!"

"Ohhhh! What a hit!"

The yacht crowd roared.

Shards of hard rock sheared off and fell into the unrelenting Rift. Splashes shot up from all sides of the dueling masses, adding on to the swirling rapids. The water separated the two islets again, then forced them into other for a second round. Again, the air and water were stuffed with flying rocks, and they began to swirl faster in the dangerous ocean.

"Looks like the left islet is the loser ladies and gentlemen, by about ten chunks there. Looks like they're almost finished."

The islets started swirling immensely, to the point where they became blurs on the water. They collided once more, then were sucked into the depths of the rift, like food to a hungry monster.

"Whoo! There you go folks, the showdown of the day. Hope you all enjoyed it."

Clapping broke out from the people on the boat.

"Well, for now, we'll be camping here for the next—twenty minutes so you all can get lots of picture of the marvelous Rift. Then we'll be under way again. Enjoy the view, folks."


End file.
